Hearts in Unison
by Sephiroth0812
Summary: After getting Mickey's letter, Sora and co. go to save the lost ones from their suffering. Yet there are more opposing forces than just Xehanort, some even very close to Sora himself. Set after Blank Points. Close Friendship-centric, no official pairings.
1. Prologue: The sleepover decision

Author's note:  
><strong>Hello and welcome to my very first serious story in English. <strong>  
><strong>It will be my own take on the future story of Kingdom Hearts, however disregarding most stuff from Dream Drop Distance as when I started to plan out the plot in April 2011 there was close to no information about it.<strong>  
><strong>As already stated in the summary, this FanFic will have no official pairings since I want to focus on the close friendships and bonds between hearts that are the main theme of the Kingdom Hearts series.<br>Take warning though that this will be a big, epic tale that incorporates many characters from KH and Disney, and also some additional Final Fantasy characters. **

Disclaimer: **Of course, none of those characters belong to me, but to Disney and Square Enix.  
><strong>

**Time to cut that already long note with one last (and important) statement: To give credit for my patient beta-reader CHIBI Majik, who took on the challenge to put the English of a native German guy with some funny grammar errors into a proper form. ;)**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Prologue: The sleepover decision<strong>_

"Man, that was a strenuous task to get my father's approval, I assure you." Kairi sighed while leaning back on the couch inside Sora's room.

"Whaa…? How come? Haven't we been friends since we were little?" Sora gave her a puzzled look, sitting on his bed cross-legged.

On the other side of the room, sitting in Sora's desk chair, Riku let out a short chuckle.  
>"Oh Sora, sometimes you really are clueless, aren't you?"<p>

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean, ha?" The spiky-haired brunette pouted back in mock annoyance.

"Easy lad. Look, if your daughter was asking for permission to have a sleepover with two _guys_…wouldn't you worry a little? Especially at our age?" Riku lectured in a semi-professional manner, ending it with a playful smirk.

"Ah, come on Riku, as if one of us would ever do something inappropriate to Kairi, seriously…" Sora flipped Mickey's letter in his hand, shaking his head.

"Yeah, we all know that, but hey, you know how parents think sometimes…" Kairi giggled and pushed one lock of her hair behind her ear.

Sora sighed, but then grinned widely. "Yup, they can cope better with us being away for long periods of time than having a girl spending a night with two of her closest male friends, now that's what I would call weird…"

"Speaking of which, shouldn't we get down to business? As far as I remember, we didn't decide on this sleepover just for fun, " Riku said, facing his comrades with a serious look.

"You're right Riku, we should to set up a plan. After all, the King wrote in his letter that this third journey lying before you may be even more difficult than the first two combined." Kairi retorted, nodding in agreement and snatching the letter from Sora's hand.

"No Kairi, it's not about the journey itself - that we'll have to discuss with the King…" Sora mumbled, lowering his head and clutching his hands.

Kairi was flabbergasted. "But Sora, then what…?"

"It's about you…" Sora whispered, his voice uneasy and hollow.

Kairi huffed, got up and stood in front of Sora, hands at her hips. "Would you just spit it out? Why do I have to pull every word out of your nose?"

Sora looked to the side. "Well, this isn't easy for me, but, as it stands now you won't be coming with us, which is probably for the better. Even so, I also don't want to leave you here on the islands again…"

"Why not? You just said it won't be appropriate for me to accompany you, so what other options are there?" Kairi replied, obviously irritated.

"Well, I assume it's because of what happened last time," Riku threw in while standing up and moving towards the bed Sora was sitting on.

She turned to gaze at Riku. "You mean that Organization-incident? But the Organization is history; Sora, Donald, Goofy, the King and you defeated everyone of them."

"That may be true, but there's still Maleficent and Pete…and nearly everyone of my enemies know that you're my weak spot. Dammit Kairi, I just don't want to go out and then later find out that you're in danger and used as a bargaining chip again."

Both Kairi and Riku were surprised by Sora's sudden outburst. He jumped up from the bed, stood directly before the girl and locked his deep blue eyes with hers.  
>"Please understand Kairi, I'm <em>afraid <em>you'll get hurt…that's why I wanted us to discuss where we can have you stay more safely."

Kairi chuckled, her cheeks getting all red. "Silly you, if it's not me it'll be one of the others you'll worry about. You have way too many weak spots." She replied softly while turning a tad to the side, yet still not breaking eye contact.

Sora grinned at her and scratched his cheek sheepishly. "Uuuh, yeah, guess you're right. But I'd still feel better if I knew that you were somewhere safe."

She nodded with a warm smile. "Ok then, let's think about a good place. Actually I myself would wish for a place where I can start to improve myself."

Riku crossed his arms before his chest. "Improve yourself? What exactly do you have in mind?"

The girl in pink chuckled. "Oh my, Riku, you usually aren't the one who's that slow…if I ever want to be of help to you two instead of just being a burden I'll have to start to learn some abilities, at least in the self defense department, don't you agree?"

He was actually baffled by his friend's determined look. _Does she mean that for real? She's a Princess of Heart so she should have some innate powers for sure…but how to awaken them…?  
><em>_  
><em>"Wait Kairi, do actually mean you want to learn how to fight?" Sora looked greatly puzzled.

The girl let out a small sigh again before answering. "Well…if you want to put it that way, yes, why should I let you guys do all of it alone every time? Besides, if I could kick some Heartless ass myself you wouldn't need to worry about me that much anymore."

_Geez Louise, what has Kairi had for dinner? Is she really serious…_  
>Sora raised his arms in surprise, his eyes glancing between his two friends.<p>

"N…No, if you learn to fight you'll might overestimate your strength and go against an opponent way above your level, then I'll be _even more _worried," he squeaked.

"Sora, I think you've overdramatizing it…that statement of going on the front lines wasn't really meant seriously, am I right, Kairi? And to be honest, I think that teaching Kairi some defensive moves while we are on our journey might come in handy someday," Riku replied, quiet and serious without taking his glance away from Kairi.

"Of course it wasn't serious…however I do want to understand my powers better and learn to actually _do_ something instead of just standing at the sidelines and watching. I've always thought about it since I came to know what I am…what does it actually _mean_to be a Princess of Heart?"

The girl was now pacing before Sora's bed, seeming visibly frustrated.  
>"I realize I've much to learn…but I figure it would take too long to do it on my own."<p>

Riku nodded slightly. "I expected it would come to this one day…alright, so, shall we now think about a suitable place for Kairi to stay? I assume you understand her reasoning now better, don't you?" He asked, turning his eyes on the brunette boy again.

Sora had by now regained his composure, and let out a smile. "Okay then Kairi, if you want to explore your hidden potential I should be the last to disagree with it. Riku, do you think that maybe Queen Minnie could teach Kairi some basic magic? You see, we have to find some way to get to Disney Castle anyways if we're gonna talk to the King. Then we could just take Kairi with us and leave her in the care of Queen Minnie and Duchess Daisy when we move out. So, what do you think?"

The boy sat down on his bed again, his eyes resting on his best friend's face in excitement, eagerly awaiting his response.

"Well, I don't know about her Majesty's abilities, but if she agrees to teach Kairi why not. Letting her stay at Disney Castle would also mean we don't have to detour." Riku brushed a lock of his silver hair aside, signalling his approval with another short nod.

"Yeah, thanks Riku. And you know, that place is probably one of the safest for Kairi to stay, too; because it's protected by that Cornerstone of Light Donald, Goofy and I saved in our last journey…" Sora added with joyful satisfaction.

"That sounds fine with me…" Kairi sat down on the couch with a satisfied look, getting a blanket ready.

"Alright, that's settled. Tomorrow we've got to figure out how to get off the islands. But now, if Kairi gets the couch, and you're in your bed, where _am I_ supposed to sleep? On the floor? Why didn't you get the extra mattress from the attic, Sora?" Riku growled, frowning and displaying a playfully annoyed expression, his pillow and blanket under his arms.

Sora, who had already discarded his slippers and jacket, looked up with a surprised face.  
>"What? Since when do you need that old mattress? Everytime you had a sleepover here we shared my bed…remember?"<p>

Kairi, who already was under her blanket, snickered. "I would love to see that…"

Riku sighed, shaking his head in disbelief. "Sora…we're best friends you know, but sharing a bed is only possible if it is _big enough_. That aside, you move too much in your sleep and I don't want your stinkin' foot in my mouth…the last time we did this we were still little kids…your bed will collapse now if we both get into it."

"Hey, I do _not_move in my sleep! And why do you think the bed will collapse? Did you gain that much weight already?"

"How can you tell if you move when you're asleep? And you can't talk about me gaining weight, who's the one that can't get enough of ice-cream, huh?" Riku countered and threw his pillow at Sora, who caught it with one hand.

"Ok, ok, I'm too tired for a pillow fight right now…let's move that to tomorrow. However, you _do have _a point since we both grew a lot since our last sleepover." The brunette boy chuckled while getting under his own blankets.

"Well, thanks for noticing the obvious, so do you expect me to get that mattress from the attic alone?"

The silver-haired teen let out a disgruntled snort.

"Nnnhm, I don't feel like getting up again…" came the mumbled response from the other boy through his pillow. "But…wait! Wait! I forgot…that second cupboard beside my desk is a hideaway bed! We moved it in here when we got a new bed for the guest room."

Riku repressed the urge to facepalm, turned and pulled at the handle. _It's indeed a bed… why didn't he mention that earlier?__  
><em>  
>He rolled his eyes, fetched his pillow and finally got to bed.<p>

Sora in the meantime turned around in his bed, lying on his back he stared at the dark ceiling of his room.  
><em><br>__This new journey might be harder than the last, but this time we won't slide into it unprepared. Kairi will be as safe as she can get and this time I'll have Riku by my side, together we'll be unstoppable. On top of that, we'll be sure to have the assistance of King Mickey, maybe even of Leon and the others. I will definitely save everyone who's waiting for me, no matter how hard it may be._

The young Keyblade wielder felt his eyelids becoming heavy…soon sleep would claim him. However, just before he fell asleep, he felt a small twitch in his heart, and very far away there was a quiet voice calling his name.

…_Sora!_

_Mmmh, who's there?__  
><em>  
>Before he could hear an answer, he finally gave in to sleep.<p> 


	2. A disturbance in the calmness of a heart

Author's note:  
><strong>I won't go into much words here except thanking my beta reader for the continuous help, so let's get to chapter I right away without much delay. ;)<strong>

* * *

><p><em><strong>I. A disturbance in the calmness of a heart<strong>_

It seemed like an endless space, littered only with interconnected stained glass pillars floating around the realm of a vast, deep heart. Some glass pillars depicted different pictures, some the same, but there seemed to be no clear pattern to them.

On one of these pillars sat the figure of a teenaged boy clad in a pitch black coat with flaky blonde hair. Holding his knees up to his chest, his arms wrapped around him, he didn't move an inch, his blue eyes just staring into the distance.

He felt limp, limp and dizzy ever since he had that final conversation with Naminé and then exchanged a final smile with her at the beach of that island through his other half.

_Good God, I know we're incomplete without one another…but still, it hurts not to be myself anymore…and on top of that this eternal calmness here is driving me nuts._

Roxas didn't know how many times he already had gone through this thought, but it always came down to the same monologue he had with himself very often since he rejoined Sora. He was supposed to be resting inside Sora, living on somewhat through the boy who comprised his other half, yet his mind still could not find peace.

His own memories had somehow allowed him to shape a bodily form, as he remembered himself, inside Sora's heart. While accepting his fate on the surface, the desire to get his own life for himself was still burning deep within his chest.

_It's not that I'm angry with Sora, or anyone else for that matter…heck, I've even forgiven that old fool DiZ, or Ansem, or whatever that revenge-blinded jerk was called. It's just… why can't I live alongside them all, have my own heart…my own, independent life? Just because I was not born naturally I'm denied everything, despite being my _**_own_**_ existence?_

He shook his head in frustration. It was always the same thing. For a long time he had also pondered if he even **had** his own existence, yet he came to the conclusion that because he still possessed his own will, mind and thoughts that he was still Roxas and not only a simple part of Sora.

_I'm inside Sora and yet all my attempts to somehow contact him fail…I don't know how many times I tried to reach out to him…but my voice never got through…am I already that deep in his heart that he has forgotten me? That every attempt to draw attention towards me is doomed from the start?_

Roxas lifted himself up from the sitting position he had been in for some time, sighed and began dragging himself down one of the stained glass walkways leading away from this platform. While walking, Roxas asked himself what good it would be to have contact with Sora anyways. Granting him his deepest – and probably only – wish was surely not within Sora's power, so why?

_Just to have somebody to talk to, gosh, we're half of each other and didn't even get one opportunity to talk properly. Screw it, I've to admit it, it's utterly _**_boring_**_ just to walk inside Sora's heart…and I'm feeling incredible_**_ lonely_**_…just exchanging some words with someone would already a big relief for me…wait…I said _**_feeling _**_lonely, how stupid is this, I still don't have a heart…I'm just walking inside one…_

Shaking his head in disbelief and annoyance over himself always repeating the same thoughts Roxas reached the next stained glass platform.

Listening to his own steps on the glassed floor Roxas tried to remember as much from his ridiculously short life as he could. He wanted to hold on those memories, cherishing them and at least dreaming of seeing his friends again, making new ones, possibly connect his circle of friends to Sora's, just sitting on that clock tower again having ice-cream.

A single tear went down Roxas' right cheek.

Other memories came into his mind…the memory skycraper at the World That Never Was, the massive army of Neoshadow Heartless. The mysterious, blindfolded Organization impostor named Riku, who helped him slay the Heartless yet then turned on him.

Now he remembered Twilight Town…the fake Twilight Town with the data incarnations of friends he never had, where that jerk DiZ had imprisoned him just to use him for his revenge. Axel, his best friend who he first didn't even remember thanks to DiZ and in the end he had to defeat in self-defense…Naminé, who finally told him the cruel truth, DiZ again, who fueled his rage with cutting remarks about his existence, Sora in his flower-like sleeping pod…the agonizing end of his summer vacation…which was a lie to begin with.

More tears began to fill his eyes, blurring his vision. Roxas clenched his fist, bent down and slammed it on the glass floor.

"AAARRGH…This is getting me so pissed. Sora, you goddammed spiky-haired jerk, why won't you heeeeaaar me?"

His voice was swallowed by the vast realm, no echo at all. However, this scream had helped a bit…as Roxas felt a bit calmer now.

He got up again, heavily panting. _Man…I hate this helplessness. If only I knew which part of Sora's heart I'm in now and where I need to go to have a chance to make contact with him…_

Roxas resumed his walking, leaving this glass pillar behind him getting on the next walkway leading through the abyss of Sora's heart.

More memories came to him, now of the time after his summer vacation ended…him shedding tears inside Sora when he said good bye to the real Hayner, Pence and Olette. God, how this had hurt at that time; it was so intense one tear even slipped out of Sora's eye, which his companions noticed with bemusement.

Shortly after that he went to sleep and didn't know anything until he awakened completely just to see Axel fading into darkness, making his last speech of loyalty and affection for him and Sora couldn't even understand the true significance, while he himself was so in shock that he couldn't even cry. Not long after that, there was the only real confrontation he ever had with his other half.

Blinded by rage because of Axel, confused to all hell as to why he was chosen by the Keyblade and wanting his own life, Roxas remembered himself starting a fight.

At first he dominated the battlefield with his dual Keyblades, after understanding why the Keyblade chose him he managed to even knock Sora's Kingdom Key away and have him at blade point, but he just reached out with his hand and the Keyblade returned to him with a flash.

_I was so shocked…I couldn't even react…and then he struck me down. He surely is the Keyblade's true chosen one…I was just a Nobody holding half of his power…_

The young blonde gritted his teeth. _Now I'm pulling myself down again, stupid me…_

Then the final battle against Xemnas, the Superior of Organization XIII, who had only used him from the very day he was born, and like every one of the Organization besides Axel, never truly cared only a bit about him. He, Roxas, was just a tool to collect hearts for Xemnas' twisted artificial Kingdom Hearts.

_Only a tool, never meant to exist but luckily available, cast aside once not needed anymore or when it became too difficult to control…_

Struggling to hold back more tears he remembered how the final battle unfolded. Watching from the inside of Sora he actually enjoyed how Riku and his other half beat the crap out of Xemnas with his stupid arrogance and egoism.

But for himself, all that was left now was to walk through the depths of Sora's heart in an always silent, eerie atmosphere, contemplating on what to do just to avoid going mad…

Roxas shook his head again…_don't let despair get a hold on you,_ he scolded himself, _someday you will reach Sora and then tell him off for ignoring you that long_.

As his chain of thoughts ended, so did the walkway. He had reached another stained glass platform. It was not all that different from the last, however, a cold, short gust of wind suddenly swept across the platform, slightly puzzling the young blonde.

"What was that…up until now there never was…"

The tone of his own voice came strange to Roxas's ears, had he really just spoken his thoughts out loud? Or did he just imagined it.

Looking around to check if there was any different thing than usual, Roxas suddenly jumped in surprise. Another gust of wind blew, and then he heard, faintly, a noise.

_What the heck? Am I going crazy? What was _**_that_**_?_

He summoned all courage he could muster and warily moved to the center of the platform. When the third gust came Roxas was already expecting it and he focused intensely to hear if his solitude had played a trick on him.

However a cold feeling ran down his spine and made Roxas shiver as he heard it again…that noise, a shockingly weak, almost shy sob.

He **hadn't** imagined it.

_Alright, that's it. Seems I've finally lost it…that was a sob for sure…but how is this possible? Is Sora sad? Are those afterimages of his feelings reaching that way down his heart? No, I can't decipher it…should I go back the way I came? This place looks unfamiliar anyway, I don't think I've ever been here before._

"Damn it Sora, why does your heart have to be so big and maze-like?" Roxas growled aloud swirling around checking his surroundings anew.

"Wait…what's that?"  
>Now he noticed it, there was another walkway leading away from this platform, but strangely, it did not have the same glass-pattern as the others Roxas had walked so far. Instead, it looked brighter but also had some cracks in it and just felt somehow creepy as it really differed from the other structures he had seen here so far.<p>

_Should I go investigate it? I mean, it _**_is _**_strange, but also intriguing. Alright then…this is Sora's heart after all, so there should be nothing really to fear. If I came close to the dark parts of Sora's heart I would feel it. Time to end the boredom…beware my other half, I'm going to explore a bit now…_

As he stepped forward, however, another gust of wind blew and this time directly in his face. Roxas gasped as the cold air hit him, was he actually **feeling** the cold sensation?

Again, a faint sob could be heard.

_It sounds so very sad…is someone or something suffering over there?_  
>Roxas slapped his left hand against his own forehead.<em><br>You dumbass…what are you thinking, there's no one here beside you…_

He had now reached the strange walkway and another, more powerful gust of wind came along, flowing over Roxas's entire figure. The sob sounded almost despaired this time and it was as if invisible hands were weakly trying to push him back.

_Now that does it…there's no other way to explain it, there _**_has_**_ to be something. Maybe this is a section so deep inside Sora's heart that even he is not aware of it._

Now that he had made up his mind, Roxas stepped forward with determined steps. As he got further, the gusts of wind began to intensify and blew more often, but their power did not increase. Every time there was also that faint sobbing noise and Roxas really began to feel awkward.

_My god, what is this? Is this even Sora's heart anymore? The atmosphere is completely different, and all platforms I've seen were broken. The air is heavy and littered with sadness, pain and fear…all around…I'm beginning to worry a bit…uuuuh? _**_WHAT__?_**

Roxas stiffened in shock, his eyes and mouth wide open.


	3. The shocking discovery

****Author's note:  
><strong>Hmm, this time we were really fast with sorting out the beta-stuff. I definitely made the right decision, so let's go on with chapter 2 and see what Roxas discovers.<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>II. The shocking discovery<strong>

His hands began to shake as he gazed at the heavily damaged platform before him. Shards of glass lay scattered all over the platform, which also had some holes in it. Unlike the other dim, broken platforms, this one was bathed in a bright light. It was even more intense than in Sora's heart.

Roxas was absolutely sure now; this place had to be another heart.

_Another__ heart inside Sora's…what is going on? Aghh…what's that, these strong feelings of sadness…excruciating pain…?_

He felt the overwhelming feelings of this other heart and was barely able to move on…but what really shocked him lay in the middle of this platform– a frail-looking human-like form that was awfully familiar and he had to examine it no matter what.

Forcing himself to move closer, Roxas couldn't believe it. The strong feelings crashed onto him as if the other heart made a last ditch attempt to force him away.

Its struggles were in vain…Roxas shook, but pushed himself forward, faintly hearing the other heart weakly sobbing and whimpering. Now it was like the other heart was literally begging him to leave but he flatly ignored it. As he finally reached the center of the platform, Roxas bent down on one knee.

_I just…I just can't believe it._

He briefly closed his eyes and let out a deep breath, silently hoping it might just all be an illusion.

However nothing like this happened, when he opened his eyes again nothing had changed. Before Roxas the figure of a young boy lay, breathing heavily and shivering. Lying on his abdomen, the boy was shirtless and faced Roxas with closed eyes. His hair and face were nearly exactly like Roxas' own, but the boy's features were very pale and distorted by pain, his lips letting out a weak pained sob in different intervals.

_So this is the source of those agonized sobs…but that boy looks just like me…like my identical twin…oh no, what do I do…what the hell is going on here?_

Frozen in his current position the black coated youth couldn't move his eyes away from the other boy lying in front of him. The right arm was perpendicular to the boy's body, the forearm resting parallel to his head. Roxas noticed the right hand clutching a small object he couldn't identify from this angle. The other arm lay slackly beside the boy's upper body, the left wrist bearing a chequered wristband.

_Also just like mine…only with different edges…those are white._

Checking the bare upper body Roxas couldn't spot any visible wounds or injuries, at least not from his position…yet still, the sobs escaping his lips, the entire facial expression contorted with pain, the trembling of his entire figure indicated that he must be bearing extreme pain.  
><em><br>__These feelings of excruciating pain hanging in__ the air, his panting…he must be injured somehow and not in a trivial way, but I can't see any visible wou__nds…is he maybe hurt on the front, or…is it internal?_

Roxas slowly shook his head.

_What's this now? I check my clone for wounds even though I don't even know what's going on here…I hate this confusion._

Gazing further down, Roxas noticed nothing unusual on the slightly outward ballooning pants coloured in black, silver and white his "twin" wore, yet the shoes were certainly odd. Or rather, his one shoe, as the left one was missing. It was shaped like a sneaker, yet the metallic surface suggested it being part of an armour set.

Eventually the young Nobody managed to avert his eyes from the boy on the floor and take a look around the damaged platform. It was in a real horrible shape and if it depicted a picture once it wasn't identifiable anymore, too many parts were broken off or cracked and the floor being littered with glass shards didn't help the issue either.

Letting out a sigh, Roxas returned his attention to his "twin". Still pondering if all this was even real, he finally decided to extend his right hand, slowly reaching out to the other boy's left shoulder.

_I __need to see__ if this really is an illusion or not…and if not, where he's hurt._

Only centimetres away Roxas suddenly hesitated. _Why am I hesitating…I have to check…_

His eyes fell on the pain-ridden face again.

…_but it's…he looks so frail and vulnerable. I strangely have the feeling that if I touch him I might hurt him further…_

He let his hand linger over the boy's shoulder, debating with himself about what to do.

_I won't get anywhere at this rate…I have at least to touch him once to prove he's real._

He pulled his hand back a bit, extending now only his index finger.

_If I just gently poke his shoulder once it shouldn't do that much harm_

Lowering his hand again, he leaned a bit forward. His "twin" let out another small sob, but now Roxas had made up his black leather of his glove had just barely touched the other boy's skin as another gust of wind blew forward, this time backed by a flurry of tormented feelings.

"Ugh!" Roxas tumbled back a little, surprised by the sudden force behind the blow.

_What was that? A form of attack?_

Still down on one knee, Roxas leaned a bit forward again, anticipating another "attack".

Nothing happened. Slowly he extended his hand again…there it was. The gust of wind came again and Roxas stood up lightning fast and jumped back a little.

_He is real…at least as real as something inside a heart can be…and those gusts of wind…they __must __be a sort of defense mechanism of this other heart. __But__ still I'm so confused, what is all this doing here inside Sora's heart? AND WHY THE HECK__ DOES THAT GUY LOOK L__IKE ME?_

Probably sensing his growing frustration and his angry outburst of thoughts, the other heart blew another "attack" in his direction. This time Roxas dodge-rolled aside and ended up right beside the other boy's head.

_Hmm… __what's the item he's clutching so tightly? Is that a hint?_

Now he bent down on both knees, trying to somehow identify the item his "twin" was holding in his right hand without touching him again.

_Damn it…I can't get a clear sight…Lemme see that, mysterious twin…_

Preparing for another "wind-attack" Roxas stood up and got nearer again, he planned to turn the boy's hand around to have a look at the item. He was so bent on getting answers that he disregarded his former restraint, now not only ignoring the constant faint whimpering pleas of the heart to leave, but also completely forgetting the pitiful state his "twin" was in. He stopped and reached down, ready to grab the boy's wrist to turn his hand around. Suddenly he noticed out of the corner of his eye a swift movement. A sharp pain shot through Roxas' head.

"Uhhh…"

**"Stay away!"**A loud cry, sounding like a mix of anger and despair, stunned Roxas even more and he could barely dash backwards to avoid an armoured figure jumping forward, almost slicing across his chest.

The black-coated youth gasped in shock, the armoured figure assumed a position between him and the wounded boy lying on the floor, readying a battle stance.

"Stay away! Leave now!" The armoured figure demanded, swinging his blade around.

_That sword…it looks odd but,__ it's a __**Keyblade**__, no doubt about it._

"No I won't, not before I got some answers." Roxas answered, speaking out loud the first time since he reached this "other" heart.

The armoured figure tilted his head a bit…his free hand clenching to a fist. "There are no answers…leave now. I need to rest…"

"There are no answers? Are you kidding me? Why are you even here? What are you doing inside Sora's heart? Who's that boy lying there and who are YOU?"

Roxas glanced angrily at the armoured figure, completely oblivious to the fact that, despite his demanding voice, his adversary could barely hold himself up; his battle stance was a bit shaky.

Roxas absolutely loathed being left in the dark, he'd had it that way too often in the past, but it now drove him to overreact without him even noticing it.

The armoured figure stiffened, grabbing his odd Keyblade tighter. "Wait…I recognize that thought pattern, the constitution of those memories…no, nooo, why? Not you…haven't you already hurt me enough? Why do you now invade my heart? Get OUT!"

Roxas stood there baffled. "What are you talking about? I don't even know you…"

The armoured figure shook his head repeatedly. "My sight's blurry, but I'll NEVER give in…why can't you just leave me alone, don't maltreat me …nnyaaah!"

_What? What? What? Now I'm completely lost…_

Suddenly the figure sprang forwards in a leaping strike, letting his Keyblade coming at Roxas in a wide backhanded slash.

_Dammit…what the heck is wrong with __this guy__? Looks like I've __got __no choice._

Roxas summoned the Oathkeeper and the Oblivion, as he remembered them, and blocked the figure's strike. As the figure leaped back, Roxas assumed a defensive stance, crossing his Keyblades in front of him.

Adjusting his gaze slightly to face his opponent again, Roxas was surprised to see the armoured Keyblade wielder shaking. The armoured figure let out a gasp, followed by a fearful small shriek.

"This…oh no, not this again…this letter, scaring me to no end…uuhhh. So you're really with _him_? Wanting to use me again for _this_? NO, I won't allow it, not a second time…"

"What letter? Really with _who_? What again? Nothing you say makes any sense to me…wait!" Roxas shouted in confusion.

The armoured warrior leaped into the air, extended his Keyblade before him and unleashed a flurry of light projectiles in a vertical circle.

_Ragnarok? How can he…?_

Roxas dodged the blasts with a well-timed forward dodge roll, landing right before the warrior who started an overhead strike with his Keyblade.

Bringing Oathkeeper up to block, Roxas reflexively raised Oblivion in his right hand too and the tip of the blade sunk into the warrior's left shoulder between the armour plates.

A heart-shattering cry of pain nearly ruptured Roxas' ears, the entire platform vibrating.


	4. What to do with a grave mistake

Author's Note:  
><strong>This one took a bit longer due to Real Life-restrictions, but now we're finally here. :D<strong>

* * *

><p><em><strong><span>III. What to do with a grave mistake<span>**_

The armoured warrior tumbled back, pressing his right hand with the Keyblade still in it on the front of the left shoulder. He trembled heavily, quietly moaning in pain and yet still frantically struggling to remain upright, as well as keeping himself between Roxas and the boy lying on the floor.

_What in all the worlds is wrong with this guy? I only touched the kid's shoulder. I just want to see what he's got. It's not like I wanted to harm him. And what does this guy mean by "Haven't you hurt me enough" or "don't invade my heart"? Isn't the boy lying there the manifestation of this other heart…or…is there a __**third**__?_

His thoughts swirled and his head hurt. The armoured Keyblade wielder stiffened again and hurled his Keyblade at Roxas.

Now he could see why the blade seemed odd to him before. Not only was this model a tad shorter than any Keyblade the young blond knew so far, its form also suggested that it was designed specially to be wielded in a reverse grip, like the armoured warrior did.

_Now's my chance to end this unnecessary fight!_

Roxas switched Oathkeeper to a backhanded grip himself, intending to use the blunt end to knock down his adversary without further serious damage and hopefully get a chance to end the fight, while he readied Oblivion to block the incoming blade.

Just as Roxas was about to slam it down into the platform as his eyes widened in surprise. It split just as it touched the Oblivion's blade, transforming into several light beams.

_What's this? It transformed…_

"Aaargh…." The light beams flew away in all directions, two slamming directly into Roxas's chest, which sent him flying backwards.

One scratched his left arm, ripping the black coat and another one bounced off the guard of the Oblivion, striking his upper right thigh and burning a hole through the coat there.

The boy wasn't really that damaged, as the offensive capabilities of the wounded heart were greatly diminished. By throwing him backwards and ripping his coat the light beams had already used up most of their available energy, resulting only in some minor bruises.

Roxas slammed hard on his back, seeing stars for a moment and losing grip of Oathkeeper.

_Uuuh…why do I actually feel that pain? Is it the memory of pain that I remember? What kind of attack was that?_

Clenching his teeth and using the Oblivion as a support Roxas got up again, ignoring the painful bruises the light beams had caused on his skin.

_It hurts, but still, the force behind that attack was overall weak, laughably weak…_

Summoning Oathkeeper back to his other hand, Roxas shook his head rapidly to get rid of the dizziness.

The armoured warrior had used the time Roxas needed to recover to close the distance between them, having his Keyblade already back in his right hand.

_Damn, going into close range battle again! You moron._

"Back off man, I don't want to harm you!" Roxas shouted.

"Why would I believe someone who has done **nothing** but hurt me?" The wielder started a wide horizontal slash.

"What? Are you crazy? I think you're mistaking me for someone else." Roxas jumped back, dodging the Keyblade slash.

"Stop it! That stab in your shoulder was an accident!" Blocking another strike, Roxas tried to hook his other Keyblade with the warrior's one, hoping to trap it between his two blades.

Somehow anticipating it, his opponent pulled back, raised his free hand and fired a Blizzard spell.

_"Magic? Ghh…"_ Roxas dodged aside. The warrior fired another chunk of ice and then closed in again, swinging his blade at the black-coated youth another time.

Roxas swatted the ice away with Oathkeeper and then took another step back to avoid the next Keyblade strike.

_It's getting problematic. For whatever reason that guy won't listen. He's in no better shape than the weird clone-kid and if this goes on I won't be able to avoid hurting him._

Swinging his Keyblade from the right again, the trembling warrior tried to force Roxas to the edge of the platform but this time Roxas acted. He smashed Oathkeeper up, meeting the other blade full force, throwing his opponent off balance.

Using the advantage, he pushed Oblivion forward, intending to smack the knuckle bow into his opponent's left side, on the sensitive part just below the ribs. Frantically trying to regain balance the warrior shifted his body a bit and Roxas lost his aim.

The guard missed its intended target, instead the blade slit the other wielders left hip.

_Oh no…_

Another heart wrenching scream of agony pierced Roxas' ears, the armoured wielder tumbled back, shaking wildly.

"Uaah…nnngh, no…I…I lost concentration, my energy…" Dropping his Keyblade, the armoured figure clutched his injured shoulder with one hand and the cut on his hip with the other, collapsing with a low stifling cry.

Alarmed, Roxas pondered rushing up to him but seemingly too late.

_What? He's disintegrating? It can't be…_

It wasn't until the armoured wielder started to disappear in a golden-white light that Roxas finally noticed a key feature of his suit.

_That armoured guy's shoes…! Wh…__**armoured sneakers**__? Just like the one…agh…no. What have I __**done**__? It can't be…oh holy crap no…why didn't I notice earlier? Why didn't I __**understand**__ earlier what happened? Why do I only remember now…?_

* * *

><p>Twilight Town, Day 17.<p>

"Now, Number XIII, Roxas, the Key of Destiny, show me your progress with the Keyblade, as it is of crucial importance for us that you know to handle it well."

"As you wish, Lord Xemnas." The young blond charged in, slaying Heartless after Heartless, concentrating on Emblems and mostly ignoring Purebloods.

Starting from the Station Plaza, Roxas fought all the way down to the Tram Common with Xemnas, the Superior of the Organzation, following close behind, monitoring his performance.

After reaching the break in the city wall, Roxas took the opportunity to quaff a potion.

"An adequate performance so far, Number XIII. Or rather, for someone only 17 days old I should say it's remarkable. You're a worthy asset to our cause." Xemnas seemed satisfied to a degree.

"Thank you, Lord Xemnas." Roxas bowed his head a little, as Axel had instructed him to do when speaking directly to the Superior.

"Very well, there's one task left for you to complete, on the other side of the wall, in the forest." Xemnas pointed with his right hand through the break.

The young blonde nodded and turned to cross through the breach. On the other side an even greater batch of Heartless awaited: Shadows, Neo Shadows, Darkballs, Soldiers, Surveillance Robots, Minute Bombs and an oddly colored Large Body.

Roxas's eyes widened. "There are so many…"

Xemnas stepped forward two steps, now standing by Roxas's side. "Indeed…seems a tad strenuous for you, Number XIII. Do you see that big red-colored Large Body? That is actually a Mega Body, a very rare kind of Heartless. Only very strong hearts become such a beast. This one is the main goal. To get rid of the others, this time we'll go in together, you take the Emblems while I annihilate the useless Purebloods."

With these words Xemnas spread his arms out, red energy blades flashing from his palms. Roxas readied his Keyblade, storming off and slicing three Soldiers in half with one stroke. Xemnas did not run, he floated, and seemingly effortlessly eliminated the Purebloods regardless of type each with one stroke of his blades. A Soldier approaching him was round-house kicked in Roxas's direction, who impaled the flying Heartless on his blade, releasing the captive heart inside.

Now Xemnas had reached the Mega Body and began to batter it with his weapons, driving it back to the trees, then out to the clearing before the old mansion.

Several minutes later the Heartless were history.

Roxas finished the last Emblem Heartless, a Minute Bomb, with a fire spell before turning his attention to the main goal as well.

The Superior seemed to have already wounded the big Heartless severely, backing it off against the wall of the old mansion.

Instead of killing it, Xemnas suddenly pulled back and turned to his youngest member.

"Ok, Number XIII, Roxas, finish it off and release its heart for us."

"Yes, Superior." Roxas raised his Keyblade, aiming for the death blow.

Yet a mere second later he found himself under a barrage of attacks, the Heartless lashing out wildly at him, driving him back.

"Uuuh…" Roxas was driven to one knee. The Mega Body trembled and yet wildly attacked again.

Xemnas showed no sign that he would assist. "Number XIII, did you mishear my order? Finish off that Heartless, just one hit should be enough."

Recovering from the surprise, the Key of Destiny started to endure the attacks, jumped over the Heartless and slammed his Keyblade in its back, eliminating it.

"Here we go…the mission is a success Number XIII. Now I can be sure you'll be of use for us."

"Uh…Lord Xemnas? I don't quite understand…why did that Heartless suddenly become stronger?" The young Nobody had an expression of real puzzlement on his face.

"I'm relieved you ask, unenlightened little new-born. It's actually a quite trivial but important lesson. That Heartless didn't become stronger, it's a psychological phenomenon shared by all life forms, may they be humans, Heartless, Nobodies or animals. It's called desperation and the unending will to continue to exist.

"If a life form is already wounded and then cornered with no way to escape, it will start to frantically defend its life with a ferocious determination. Of course this is futile in most cases, as no real power boost is obtained and once the opponent recovers from its shock, like you did a few moments ago, the doomed and cornered existence is destined to fall.

"Remember this when you fight already injured opponents, to prevent surprise attacks."

Roxas' facial expression scrunched up in thought as he tried to comprehend what Xemnas had just explained.

Xemnas however turned around and opened a Corridor of Darkness. "Think carefully about it, Roxas…it can come in handy later when you understand the concept."

With this the Superior walked into the Corridor, leaving a brooding young blond behind.

* * *

><p>…<em>it was the one and only mission I ever did with Xemnas, so I should have remembered this occurrence.<em>

He stumbled two steps backwards, lamenting what a grave mistake he'd made.

_Oh crap…I'm such an insensitive idiot, letting my frustration get the best of me and the one who paid for it was this poor wounded heart that I literally trampled over._


	5. Calming a frightened heart

Author's Note:  
><strong>Real Life is really a time-stealer the last two months, sorry for the delay of the next chapter. Here we finally are!<strong>

* * *

><p><em><strong>IV. Calming a frightened heart<strong>_

The armoured wielder had by now fully vanished, his Keyblade remaining there on the platform.

Roxas stood there in the same spot, gripping the handles of his Keyblades so tightly his palms started to ache.

He felt a sharp pain in his chest – guilt.

_Why? Why was I so blind? I wanted to get answers so badly I completely ignored the voice of this other heart. Now I understand clearly what Xemnas meant that time…  
>And I'm the one who came barging in here, causing him to panic like that.<em>

Roxas's entire body now felt cold and numb, there were no more agonized small sobs but constant, pain-stricken weeping which made him cringe inside.

His glance wandered back to the shirtless boy on the floor. He gasped horrified as his hands shot to his mouth, Oathkeeper and Oblivion clattering on the platform.

_No…is it that bad?_

He could clearly see it on the boy's bare upper body, a long bleeding cut crossing the left hip and below the left shoulder a stain of blood was also clearly visible on the platform.

_That's horrible…simply horrible. I have to help him._

Roxas took a wary step forward, his gaze now fixated on the other boy's distorted face.

Tears were pouring down from the closed eyelids, causing the guilt inside Roxas to multiply. Just how much must he have hurt and frightened the poor heart by not paying attention to the situation.

After taking another step he noticed the other boy now more intensely shaking in fear…his left hand twitching uncontrolled while his breath came short and choppy between his constant crying.

_Agh…I should say something. He must think I'm gloating over my victory and that I'm going to do more damage to him._

Before he could think any further Roxas heard a pain-ridden voice, sobbing but also still somewhat defiant.

"Was this also an accident? You liar…does it satisfy you to step on someone who's already broken? You will never succeed, you can't succeed because using me is useless now, even if you revel in torturing me it'll not change a thing..."

_It's really the same voice than the armoured guy had. __S__o it was the heart using some gathered energy to create an apparition to protect itself._

Roxas tried to sound as gentle as he could manage. "You don't need to be afraid, I'm not going to torture you or to use you for anything. It's a big misunderstanding."

The boy on the floor stiffened, his sobbing voice now confused and really fearful.

"Misunderstanding? B…But what makes you say that? You say something, and the next minute you inflict another cut or stab on me? Why are you playing such games with me? Do you get some sick pleasure from hearing me scream in agony again and again? M…My heart is so heavily injured it isn't good for anything…so please, I beg you, don't play any games or hurt me again…just leave me alone!"

Roxas slowly shook his head, taking another step and tried to sound even softer than before.

"I'm not playing any sick games with you, I promise. I would **never** enjoy seeing others suffer."

Having now reached the wounded boy, he crouched down very carefully beside him. He could now also see the cold sweat on the pale face, wetting the golden blonde hair and mixing partly with the flowing tears.

Sensing him this near, his "twin" struggled to raise his trembling left hand from the side of his body, slowly shifting the arm, ignoring the shoulder wound. It was a weak gesture of desperate defense.

"No…please don't, please don't…stay away…"

Intent on comforting him, Roxas took the trembling hand carefully between both his own, gently stroking the back a little.

"Shhshh, don't be so frightened anymore. Please listen, I am really incredibly sorry that I hurt you. I never intended to harm you in any way, I made a horrible mistake."

"You say you're sorry…you say that you never intended to harm me…" the boy's teary voice went shaky, "…but…but how do you expect me to believe this if you tortured me for a so long period beforehand, then went away for a short time before bursting directly into my heart, stomping on it, demanding answers even though I don't even know the questions and then confronting me with that letter which scares me to death?"

More tears fell down the pale cheeks, the boy's right hand clutching the item even tighter while he seemed unsure if he should pull back his left hand from between Roxas' hands.

The gut-wrenching scene of his crying mysterious "twin" shook Roxas nearly to the core.

_This poor kid is so scared. My own confusion has to wait, I need to calm him down. I need to __**prove**__ to him that he can believe me.  
>He's really a cornered, injured existence; one of those Xemnas was referring to in his lesson…now I finally understand it fully.<em>

The young blonde removed the black glove from his right hand using his teeth, still holding the other boy's hand in his left. Casting the glove aside he softly spoke to the boy again.

"You're right. Why should you believe me? After all, I hurt you two times already despite my claims of not wanting to do it. Unintentionally or not, the fact is I hurt you and I'm going to make amends for it.

"I honestly can't say anything for that "long period" before since I don't know what you're talking about but still, I'm going to show you that I don't mean any ill will and make up for the stupid way I handled this."

"…? M…Making amends?" The boy's shaky voice now sounded baffled, slightly unsure.

Roxas bent forward very carefully, slowly extending his bare hand to the bleeding cut on the boy's left hip.

"Yes, now please don't panic, I'm just going to treat that wound." He assured his "twin" with gently spoken words.

"Cura!" The black coated youth whispered the word loud enough that his "twin" must have heard it. The spell, while not removing the cut completely, at least stopped the bleeding.

Roxas hissed through his teeth, but this time remembered to speak out loud, so as not to scare the injured boy anew.

"Damn it. Since I'm now mostly made up of memories it seems my spells lost effectiveness."

The boy's left hand with the wristband stopped twitching in Roxas' left one and he ceased to cry for a moment, obviously surprised.

"…uh? You…you really casted a healing spell on me? What are your real intentions then?" He asked hesitantly, still highly wary and unsure.

The other blonde sighed with relief. "Well, they're certainly not torturing or using you. I hope that you now believe me in that regard. To be honest, I feel guilty because of what I did to you. Let me explain myself, so you'll understand."

"You feel…guilty! So you really harbor no ill will!…but then why…uuugh."

A sudden coughing fit alarmed Roxas. The boy let out a pained moan.  
>"What happened?"<p>

"Just another bout of pain…" the boy whispered weakly "…but if you're really willing to make it up and want to explain your mistake, please do so…I'll try to listen for a while then."

Roxas allowed himself a small smile._ Finally…finally I got through to him. Now I have to be careful not to scare or hurt him again. Maybe if he learns at least not to fear me I can get some answers too…later on._

"Ok then, I assume you know that you're inside another heart here?"

His "twin" gave a slow, small nod. Roxas continued, now with a steady calm voice.

"Well, as a matter of fact, I was born from that heart, practically the "other half". Coexisting with my other self actually allowed me to develop an own existence but eventually I had no choice except to re-join with him even though I wanted to remain as my own person.

"I'm now actually living inside his heart and by exploring it a bit. I stumbled upon your heart sitting in here by accident. I was just as confused as you were so I wanted to investigate and that ended up taking precedence. I wanted to know why this heart is here, what it actually means to do inside my other self's heart and how it got here."

Slowly calming down, the wounded boy let his left hand linger in Roxas's left one. The frightened shaking of his figure ceased somewhat, leaving only the shivering from the enormous pain he obviously still had to endure. While still crying a bit, he nonetheless paid close attention to Roxas' words.

"When I finally got to this platform it got worse when I found you lying here. I was genuinely shocked, mostly because of your appearance. I noticed that you were wounded but since I wasn't sure if it was real, I decided to try and touch you. But not being able to make any sense out of all this made me pretty frustrated…I suppose you sensed that somewhat and got afraid of me. I'm sorry for being so selfish; I was just thinking about how to satisfy my own curiosity…I never even tried to speak to you. I thought that this was another weird scheme. I've experienced stuff like that a lot in the past so I hate it if someone tries to delude or confuse me.

"When you created that armoured warrior and demanded me to leave I totally overreacted and got pissed. I didn't realize that you weren't trying to just throw me out or order me around. You were just frightened because of your wounded state and because you had no way to escape."

"So…you really didn't intent to hurt me this time? These two new injuries were really accidents then…?" came the low, almost shy question.

Roxas sighed, nodding in apology.  
>"Yes, I never should have summoned my Keyblades in the first place. I should have just tried to calm you down. I'm the one who's fully to blame for this. You just tried to protect yourself, it was me who failed to see that and who was too stupid to open my mouth earlier."<p>

His "twin's" left hand briefly squeezed Roxas' hand a little and he was flabbergasted to see the boy's lips forming a small, barely noticeable smile on the tear-stained face.

"Hah…I once learned that people who are able to admit their own errors are mostly good people…" The still tearful voice sounded relieved.

Roxas chuckled a bit. "I'm glad we finally came to an understanding…so no need to fear me anymore, okay?"

"Okay. Uhhm…hey you…you said actually my _looks_ shocked you more. What's that all about?" The other boy's voice, while still ridden with pain and somewhat shaky, now sounded outright curious.


	6. The living mirror: Ventus

Author's Note:  
><strong>Alright, the fifth chapter is finally ready in a postable format (again thanks to my diligent Beta Reader, CHIBI Majik ;D).<br>Let's see how Ventus reacts to actually seeing Roxas for the first time. ^_^**

**I'd also like to thank my very first reviewers, Rhennella and Roxas198. Hope you enjoy this chapter as well.**

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>V. The living mirror - Ventus<span>_**

Roxas allowed himself another little smile.  
><em>Now knowing that he doesn't have to fear me he ignores his constant pain and gets inquisitive on the spot, what an interesting guy<em>_.__ But __how the heck do I explain that?_

Biting his lip, he realized another matter had to be taken care of first as his "twin" was still bleeding from that shoulder stab.  
>"That's actually quite difficult for me to explain. I have an idea, but…actually, would you mind letting me first to turn you around so I can take care of that other wound? Or does me touching you hurt you too?"<p>

The other boy seemed to think for a moment before whispering a meek answer.  
>"No…your touch didn't hurt but…I was just so frightened, and when you then tried to get at…" He stopped, nearly bursting into tears again.<p>

"It's ok, sshshh, you know now that I'm not going to hurt you, calm down," Roxas reassured him while briefly caressing the back of the boy's left hand again. "I will be exceptionally careful I promise, but since I was the one who inflicted that wound on you I consider it my duty to treat it."

His "twin" slowly shook his head. "It won't work how you expect it to…remember this is a manifestation of my heart, not my real body. Cure spells work mainly on flesh…not on hearts. Worse is you used a Keyblade, a weapon especially effective on hearts."

"At least it could stop the bleeding…ghh!" The black-coated youth now realized it; if there is no body, why is there blood?

"It's not real blood, it's something like a "heart-energy" leaking out…and it hurts badly," the wounded boy whispered as if he had read what Roxas thought.

"I know…but the Cura-spell seemed at least to stop that on the cut on your hip, so let me try it on that stab too! It might just ease the pain."

"Ok…fine then, let's do this…" the wounded boy relented, pulling his left hand slowly back from Roxas', his expression twisting in pain again as he moved the limb, alarming the other boy.

"No, don't move by yourself. It'll only make it hurt more. Please, it's already hard to bear to see you constantly suffering, no need to intensify it."

Letting out a small sob again the boy stopped moving.

"…Uuh…it's really weird. You are certainly caring about me now and while it's still contradictory to what you did before you even entered my heart I somehow feel you're honest. So go ahead."

Roxas nodded in agreement, still ignoring his own confusion. "Alright, here we go."

He first discarded his left glove, as he didn't want to touch the other boy with the cold leather. Then he moved to the boy's other side and kneeled on both knees again, carefully taking his "twin's" right wrist and placing the arm in the same position parallel to the body as the left one. Again he noticed him clenching his hand around that mysterious item. The boy let out a winced yelp when Roxas moved the limb.

"Everything is ok, I just don't want to put pressure on your right arm. Be ready now, I'm starting…"

Roxas gulped, noticing still an unspoken fear inside him, a fear pertaining to the danger of worsening the other boy's condition by moving him. Taking uttermost care and paying attention to every little step he slowly managed to turn the fragile looking form of his "twin" around.

_It's almost like carrying a glass sculpture…so frail, but yet he's so lightweight it's nearly effortless._

He let the other boy slowly settle down in his right arm, the wounded shoulder now resting closely to the upper arm while the boy's head was leaned against Roxas' own right shoulder. The black-coated youth let out a relieved sigh.

"So, no harm done?" He asked while warily observing the other's pain-stricken face.

"Yeah, no harm done…seems like you did a good job," came the muffled answer.

"That's good. So now to stop that "bleeding"…agh…" Suddenly a flash shot through Roxas' head, impairing his vision for a short moment and making him clutch his head with his free hand.  
><em>What's this…I…I ha<em>_d this scenario before…I already held someone in my arm like this. Why can't I remember who it was and where it was? I don't remember anything except that thi__s scene is familiar and that this person was special…uuuuh…I don't even know when it was!_

"W…What's wrong?" He barely heard the whispered, almost shy question from the boy he held.  
>"N…nothing. Just a sort of déja-vu…really nothing's wrong." He didn't sound as sure as he wanted to. Bringing his free hand up Roxas placed it over the bleeding stab wound in the other's shoulder. "Cura."<br>As with the cut on the hip before, the spell didn't actually heal the wound but at least stopped the bleeding.  
>"It's…it's helping somewhat, thank you…" His "twin" tried another, barely noticeable smile.<p>

"There's no need for thanks. I'm just trying to make up for my mistake, I actually should ask you to forgive my rashness." While answering Roxas let his eyes flicker over the other boy's body again in examination but the bare chest and abdomen featured not even one visible wound, except the two he himself had inflicted.

The wounded boy now tilted his head a bit. "So now…what were you saying before about my appearance shocking you?"

"Oh well, for that…I don't think I can describe it that well…and if I just say it you probably won't believe me anyways…"

"Eh? Why's that?" The curiosity was back in the tone of his "twin's" voice.

"Because I can't believe it myself. Tell me, do you think you can manage to open your eyes? You'll understand instantly then." Roxas felt uneasy with asking the boy to endure another effort but he knew it would make understanding his shock easier and in turn he would get the last bit of evidence to explain their uncanny resemblance of each other.

"I haven't tried it for a long time, as I'm more or less in a state of half-sleep now. That's also why my sight is blurry and I couldn't properly dodge when we fought. But ok, I'll try it…you actually made me curious now."

The boy clenched his teeth, and to Roxas' sheer amazement he managed despite his frail looking figure and the constant shivering indicating how painful it was to pull up his right hand with surprising speed. Placing the hand still clutching the item firmly on his chest his "twin" let out a long breath before actually lifting up his head a bit.

_Now I'll see…the last confirmation of our similarity._

Roxas locked his own gaze at the other boy's face as he slowly opened his eyes…and stiffened in awe and pity the next moment. A pair of sapphires was now glancing back at him, nearly the same as his own and yet so different in what they emitted. These eyes where emanating so much sadness and agony that Roxas couldn't help but to wince himself.

_What by Kingdom Hearts has happened to this poor guy…looking into those eyes feels so…incredible painful._

At first the boy's entire expression was a confused one, arguably because he hadn't really seen anything for a very long time. His gaze flickered around to take in his surroundings but his weary, tormented blue eyes quickly locked onto Roxas' face, widening in surprise and disbelief.

"…Hhhh, uh? That…urrgh" He cringed in pain again, pressing his right hand harder on his bare chest. "…is this a mirage? It can't be, can it?" Roxas retained his gaze on the other boy's face as well.

"You have the same reaction more or less as I had when I found you lying here. Now you understand my confusion, don't you?" he whispered softly to the wounded boy.

"…Please…if you would excuse me…"

"Wha…?" Roxas was surprised at the very polite tone of the other boy and as his "twin's" left hand came up and started to cautiously trace his right cheekbone he became nervous.

Trembling more with insecurity than with fear now, the hand moved on to shortly poke the tip of his nose and then proceeded to pull on one strand of his hair.

"Eeek…now what are you doing?" He squeaked.

"I'm sorry…but…it's just like looking into a living mirror." The wounded boy apologised, casting his sapphires down as if ashamed.

"A living mirror! I couldn't have coined that better. Hey, you don't need to apologize…I was just surprised," Roxas replied gently.

Slightly flinching in his hold, his "twin" looked up again slowly, shyly examining Roxas further with his eyes.

"We…we're so similar in looks it's scary…y…yes, I now understand…" He stuttered, obviously flabbergasted.

Roxas almost regretted convincing him to open his eyes as his "twin" was clearly upset and confused himself now and considering his state it was questionable if the wounded heart could take that additional strain.

"Just don't worry too much now, it'll do you no good. I swear to you by Kingdom Hearts itself I won't willingly cause you any harm."

The other boy briefly shut his eyes again and sighed before establishing firm eye contact again, his voice wavering a tad.

"…You're even making a vow…! N…Now I don't get why you tortured me before…you're not really malevolent at all…"

"Like I said, I don't even know anything about it. Yet still, someone in your condition has no reason at all to lie."  
>Roxas frowned, desperately trying to grasp when he could have hurt the other boy's heart when it was inside Sora's all along. "Nevertheless, I think as a token of trust I'd at least give you my name. I'm Roxas."<p>

The sad blue eyes narrowed a bit, but this time the boy managed a full, noticeable smile.

"…Alright. My name is Ventus…but I prefer Ven."

_Ventus, huh? And he even allowed me to call him by a nickname. Maybe if we build up mutual trust we can start to shed some light on all that mess. __I'd like to__ know what or who caused him that much suffering._

Roxas gave him back a genuine smile. "Pleased to meet you, Ven. Only pity is that it isn't under better circumstances…hah?" His smile froze as Ven's entire body was suddenly wracked with painful spasms.  
>Gasping and moaning, Ven cringed while his left hand clawed into the coat on Roxas' chest. His eyes flickered in panic, silently staring at him in an outcry begging for help.<p>

"Agh…uuuh, no, how can it…be that bad…aaaargh. R…Ro…xas please…help me!" Ven's sobbing voice pierced him like a spear. He sucked in a sharp breath as his twin's body began to shudder.


	7. Feeling the tip of torment

Author's Note:  
><strong>It's time to take a look how all this affects Sora in the real world. I'm also grateful this story is finally gaining a following, really motivating to write on. ;)<br>As for the question what's happening to Ventus right now, we'll see that eventually, yet now we'll take a look at some other major players for a while.  
><strong>

* * *

><p><em><strong>VI. Feeling the tip of torment<strong>_

Sora's eyes shot open when he awoke with a gasp.

_Hah…what's going on? I feel so…weird._

He hastily sat up in his bed, his eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness in his room.

Pressing his left palm on his forehead and clasping his white undershirt over his chest he let out a long sigh.

_What was that? A dream? A vision?_

He looked down and ran his hand though his hair, noticing that his undershirt was soaked with sweat, as was his spiky brown hair.

_Wonderful, simply wonderful…what's wrong with me? I should shower before the others wake up and find me like this. Only problem is how I'm going to sneak out of here without waking Kairi or Riku._

Diverting his gaze to the alarm clock sitting on the window ledge where he had placed it earlier he saw that it was 3.45am in the morning.

Slowly removing the blanket, Sora got up from his bed and crept in the direction of the door, being particularly careful to not make any noise. Concerned or curious questions from both of his closest friends were the last things he wanted right now.

As he reached the door, Sora snatched another shirt and new shorts from the shelf beside it and slipped into the corridor.

_Luckily we also have a bathroom up here, so I don't need to use the creaking stairs…ouch!_

Sora clenched his teeth as an aching pain bloomed in his hip where he bumped into a small table standing in the corridor.  
><em>Dammit, I should have brought my flashlight.<em>

Suppressing the urge to swear Sora slowly sneaked further down the corridor, finally reaching the upstairs bathroom.

After carefully closing the door behind him he fumbled for the light switch, blinking at the sudden brightness when the lights came on.

_Phew…lucky me, no one noticed._

Sora hastily discarded his sweaty clothes, grabbed a towel from a nearby shelf and entered the shower cubicle.

Comfortable warm water started to pour down on him when Sora turned the faucet. Leaning on the back wall of the cubicle, he just let the water flow down his entire body, not moving one inch.

_Why did I start to sweat that heavily? And then this weird vision, am I starting to imagine things? I'm probably just overreacting because of what was written in the King's letter._

Sora shook his head, causing droplets of water to fly from the ends of his hair.

_I gotta find out…somehow.  
>But for now I should go to bed and try to sleep for the rest of the night or someone might notice something and I'll get questions I don't think I have the nerve for.<br>Hopefully **it** won't happen again tonight…_

Five to seven minutes went by before the brunette turned off the water and stepped out again, buried in thought while drying himself.  
>Just as he had put the new shorts on and was about to pull the fresh undershirt over his head it happened…<p>

_Ghh…shit…_

…the door opened slowly.

"So I didn't dream the light lurking from below the door. Don't you think it's a little early to take a shower?" asked a quiet and somewhat surprised voice.  
>Riku stood in the doorframe, with his left arm leaning on it while he carried a bottle of mineral water in his right hand.<p>

"…eeh? Riku? Why are you awake?" Sora's exclaimed with a mixture of surprise and displeasure.

"That should actually be my question. But for your information, I got suddenly thirsty," the silver-haired older teen retorted with a grunt, waving the bottle around.

Pulling the shirt down Sora looked aside. "Oh, what a funny coincidence. I should be the one who's thirsty right now, given how much I'm sweating."

Riku raised a brow. "Funny coincidence?"

Sora faced him again, sporting a wide grin. "Yeah, I'm the one losing water and you're the one who gets the thirst. You gotta let me have some of that water too!"  
><em>Damn it…he has it again; that investigating look. I don't want to talk about it, not now. I need to figure things out for myself before I get anyone else involved in this. Standing here clueless and not even knowing what's going on with myself is ticking me off way more than ever before.<br>_Sora inwardly grimaced, annoyance slowly growing.

With a fluid motion Riku tossed the bottle over to Sora, who grabbed it out of the air.

Opening it and tilting his head back to get a sip, the spiky-haired brunette didn't notice Riku's actual concerned stare though the silver strands falling over his eyes.

_Sora, you still can't do it…hmph, I can always tell if your light-heartedness is sincere or not. I guess that's what it's like when you've known each other since we were in diapers.  
>Yet still, Kairi's pretty sensitive. And I bet she's going to notice too. Why, though? Why won't you confide in us? Confide in me? Is there still…<em>

Riku shook his head vigorously; pondering won't get either of them anywhere. He had already an idea of what might be going on.  
><em>Now how do I approach this…?<em>

He realized the other boy glancing at him from the corner of one eye. Putting down the bottle, Sora fixed his stare to the older teen.  
>"You're brooding again, aren't you?"<p>

"For a good reason, I know that!" Riku folded his arms before his chest, blocking the door.

Sora's eyes widened in surprise. "Wha…? What's the matter all of a sudden?"

Riku sighed. "Don't play dumb, you know that I've figured you out already. You may be able to fool Donald and Goofy with that, but not me. And you won't fool Kairi either."

Sora winced.  
><em>So much for trying to cover up. Damn you, Riku. Still…I don't want to talk about it until I've thought it through for myself.<br>_"Alright, alright, you win. Sometimes I wish you couldn't see through me like that." The brunette placed his hands behind his head, this time displaying a true smile.

The older teen snorted amusedly. "Not a chance! You're pretty easy to read anyway. Now then, what's _really_ bothering you?" The concerned tone was back in Riku's voice.

Sora replied while shaking his head: "I don't really know…it was just weird…some funky nightmare I don't even fully remember."

"A nightmare?" Riku wondered thoughtfully. "Do you remember anything?"

"Just fragments, nothing spectacular." The brunette skirted around the subject, causing the older teen to feel a twinge in his heart.

_Despite reconciling, despite walking the same road together, it seems he still can't trust me fully again. Can't he see that I'm worried…  
><em>It put a bitter taste in Riku's mouth.

"Yet it was spectacular enough to wake you up drenched in sweat," he finally answered.

Sora chuckled. "Guess so…" The younger boy suddenly faced Riku with a serious expression which made the silver-haired teen's eyes wide in surprise.

"Riku…I…I really appreciate you being here for me and I'm glad you want to help but…I'm not ready to talk about it. How do you expect me to explain stuff I don't even understand myself? I want to at least try and work it out myself before consulting others."

Riku grunted. "Fair enough I suppose. I wasn't very open with you in the last two years either."

The brunette shook his head determinedly. "No, no, that's not it…agh. I don't even know if I'm just overreacting or if I'm imagining things. If that were the case I would have made a fuss about nothing."

"And you think brooding about it will get you any further? Sora, even if it's just a dream, you could be getting hints or a warning!"

"Ok, fine. Well, like I said, I can't remember much, only this scream…this scream that nearly freaked me out…"

"A scream? In your nightmare? What kind of scream was it? A voice you know?"

"A scream full of agony…sadness…fear… it just felt horrible. It did sound familiar, but I can't put the voice to a face or a name."  
>Sora visibly shivered just thinking about it.<p>

Riku didn't move his eyes away from his friend.  
>"You know, I won't necessarily say that you're imagining things. I'm sure it's just the King's letter getting to you. Maybe something written in the letter triggered something…something deeply connected to your heart. That scream may have been a harbinger; showing you the tip of the torment that awaits."<p>

Sora's eyes widened. "But we don't even know who the King was talking about and I'm seemingly connected to so many hearts…say Riku, have we been contemplating too long? Is their suffering increasing the more time passes?"

The silver-haired teen shook his head vigorously. "Sora! Don't! Don't start blaming yourself already. I'm sure if it was really that urgent the King would have come personally!"

"That scream was really terrifying though…", Sora whispered.

"I can't say because I didn't hear it. But Sora, always remember we'll be together now. We'll face that horrible torment together and then find a way to heal it."

Sora nodded, seemingly calmer now.  
>"Ok then, let's go to bed again before Kairi wakes up and we have to answer to her too." With those words Riku turned and left the doorway.<p>

Approving with another nod Sora followed, still deep in thought as he certainly _didn't_ tell Riku everything he remembered. Nor did he say anything about what he **felt**, like that sudden, short painful stab in his heart and another scream of agony after that.


	8. The return of the King

Author's Note:  
><strong>As I announced in the last note, we'll now take a look at some other major players in the whole tale for the next two chapters, starting with the main Disney-crew.<br>I'd also like to give my thanks for more reviews and followers. So, now enough of the babbling and better go on with the story. ;D**

* * *

><p><em><strong>VII. The return of the King<strong>_

While the Destiny Islands were still shrouded in the depths of the night, the sun was rising at Disney Castle in a bright, early morning, the surrounding town slowly awakening for another busy day.

The colonnade, suffused with light already, saw two early visitors this morning.

A well-known bipedal duck made his way down the corridor, encountering the queen of the kingdom on her way to the audience chamber.

"Good morning, Your Majesty," Court Magician Donald Duck spoke with an almost overdone ceremonial tone, causing the Queen to let out a small chuckle.

"A good morning to you too, Donald. But there's no need to be that formal." Minnie answered, before turning slightly to the big door leading to the audience chamber.

Donald's posture loosened a bit. "Thank you, Your Majesty. I was just going to check up on the preparations to contact Sora and Riku. The King is due to return any day now, we've left them enough time to think."

Queen Minnie closed her eyes briefly before turning to face Donald again. "You know, I was quite surprised that he had to rush away to meet Master Yen Sid right after writing that letter to Sora and taking another look at the datascape. For him to be that hasty it must have been a very urgent matter."

Donald nodded in approval. "I'm surprised too. Something His Majesty learned from his journey with Data Sora must have hit him as very important. I want to discuss this with Goofy as well."

"The King must have his reasons, yet I would appreciate him giving a least a small explanation before running off. As for Goofy, I haven't seen him yet this morning but I'm afraid that I'm not up to date on how the patrol plan is set up this week." The Queen wrung her hands and seemed somewhat uneasy with the whole situation.

"Don't you worry Your Majesty, I'm sure the King does this so that you don't have to worry about him while you're leading the kingdom when he's away."

Donald raised the index finger on his right hand to underline his speech.

"Thank you for the reassuring words Donald, we'll meet later," The Queen answered with a long breath in relief.

"If you would so kindly excuse me then, I have to find Goofy."

Donald turned to his right, waddling down the rest of the colonnade while Minnie turned and entered the audience chamber.

After having crossed half of the broad perron leading to the courtyard Donald stopped as he was approached by three familiar ducklings climbing up the stairs. They were clad in identical lightweight armour and brandished sharp-looking spears.

_Waaak? Now what's up with the boys?_ he thought in surprise.  
>"Huey, Dewey, Louie? What's with that military parade all of a sudden?" Donald quickly glanced from one duckling to another as they came to a halt hree steps below him, trying to distinguish between them. It took him more than a second to notice they each had colored feathers sitting on top of their helmets in red, blue and green, like the ducklings' regular caps.<p>

"Well, a good morning to you too, Unca Donald," Huey answered, lining his spear up beside him.

"We're part-time castle guards now, helping Goofy keeping order while the King is abroad," Dewey added with determination.

"Not to mention we're keeping an eye on Unca Scrooge's fortune, too," Louie finished while twirling his spear around.

Even though he was tapping his foot irritably at the boys, Donald opted for a more approving answer.

"It's nice to see you finally being useful boys. So where's that lazy bum Goofy? I need to talk with him."

"Last time I checked, he was taking a nap in the courtyard," Dewey answered, with the other two ducklings chuckling.

"Waaak? Again?! That lousy loafer!" Donald jumped shaking his fist.

"Thanks boys, see you around," he added before running past his nephews, taking two steps at once, hurrying to reach the courtyard.

Storming through the door shortly after, Donald loudly shouted Goofy's name.

"What's the fuss at this time in the morning Donald? Do you really have to be so noisy?" Horace Horsecollar greeted Donald halfway down the path, carrying hedge shears to work on the plants.

"That lazy palooka Goofy is slacking off somewhere around here and we have to sort out some things so we're ready for action when the King comes back," the court magician retorted with impatience.

"Well, I surely haven't seen him. You should go easy on him, he was on patrol half of the night, ya know!" Horace said, his tone somewhat disapproving.

The duck was unfazed by Horace's statement and after reprimanding him started to look around in the courtyard.

"Bah, what do you know? My nephews were doing night patrol duty too and they're still hopping. Furthermore it's been already three days since His Majesty went to see Master Yen Sid and four since he wrote the letter to our friends on Destiny Islands, we need to be prepared when he returns. Goofy's also the one entrusted by the King to oversee the refitting of the main gummi ship."

"Whatever the case is, just don't explode again or you'll get problems with your blood pressure even before Scrooge McDuck does," Horace said disarmingly, turning his attention to the hedges and plants in the courtyard.

Donald dismissed that comment with an annoyed grunt, starting to run around, searching. Goofy wasn't in the flower field in the middle where the castle-like arrangement of foliage that housed the entrance to the gummi-hangar was situated.

_Now where is he? Hiding in the bushes?_

Narrowing his eyes, Donald noticed a muffled but persistent snoring coming from behind one of the hedges.

_Gotcha..._

He hurried around the hedge, where Goofy laid lazily stretched out.

"Goofy! Wake up!" The shout echoed back from the enclosing walls of the courtyard, making Horace Horsecollar jump in surprise and two of the magical brooms briefly suspend their current activity to look around befuddled.

The only answer Donald got was another drawn out snore. Goofy surely was a deep sleeper. Donald started tapping his foot, annoyed.

"WAAAK!" Raising his right index finger, he conjured a toned-down thunder spell, zapping Goofy awake.

"Wow! Oi, oi..." Goofy jumped in surprise, sitting up and making a very stupid face afterwards.

"Gawrsh, that was a rough wake up call. Well, anyway, a good morning, Donald."

Donald jumped quickly up and down in response, quacking in annoyance. "Why do I need to zap you awake in eight of ten cases? Darn it, Goofy..."

"Well, maybe it's because I have a heavy sleep? But say, what's all the fuss again?" Goofy didn't lose his cheerfulness despite the rude awakening.

The duck face-palmed before calming down again. "What fuss? There's no fuss, do you actually know how long the King has been away up 'til today?"

"Of course, starting today it's the fourth day since—whooaao! The fourth already?"Goofy looked upset now, his glance insecurely flickering all around as if he expected King Mickey to be standing around somewhere.

"Oh boy, it's already that late. He could be back any day now."

Donald was tapping his foot again. "From your reaction I bet the preparations are way behind schedule."

"Gawrsh, setting up a Digitizer like the one that leads into Tron's world in Radiant Garden isn't as easy as you think, and the lacklustre funding from your uncle didn't help either," Goofy explained, looking embarrassed.

Face-palming again, Donald shook his head.

"It's just as I feared, Uncle Scrooge, that old miser. So how far are Gyro and you at finishing the project?"

"Err...well, we set up all necessary interfaces and ports with Data-Riku's help to make travel to and from the datascape easier but the Digitizer itself is close to garbage. Gyro said he can'tguarantee that this patchwork job will work properly and Data-Riku even refused to activate it for fear of damaging the datascape."

"Phooey. So, what about accommodation and the refit of the gummi-ship?" Donald's visage was clearly displeased with the way that he furrowed his brows as he kicked a small stone away before grumbling in exasperation.

"Accommodation shouldn't be an issue, we have enough rooms and Duchess Daisy can order a room to be made up in less than two hours. As for the gummi-ship, last time I checked the upgrading was going smoothly."

"And when did you check?" Donald asked, with a nit-picky tone.

"Not so long ago, maybe six or seven hours. The ship should be ready by tomorrow, lunch-time," Goofy reassured him.

"So the main problem is still getting direct and constant access to the datascape. Did Jiminy at least re-upload the debugged journal to set everything straight in the data world?"

"That went pretty well as far as I know. At least that's what Data-Riku said about it." The captain of the Royal Guard seemed much more relaxed and optimistic now. "Come on Donald, except for the Digitizer everything is going well. In the worst case scenario Sora, Riku and Kairi will have to contact the datascape through the monitor instead of going there. Although this would make Data-Sora pretty sad – he wants to meet the real one in person."

Before Goofy could go on Chip's voice was heard through the loudspeaker system of the castle, announcing the approach of King Mickey's gummi-ship. Exchanging a brief glance without needing to say a word, Donald and Goofy rushed to the hangar beside each other to welcome their King.

On the main hangar platform Pluto was already patiently waiting, wagging his tail in anticipation. Chip and Dale were in the operator's box as usual, monitoring the approaching gummi ship's descent and preparing the guide beam as Donald and Goofy joined Pluto on the main platform. It took only five more minutes until the royal gummi ship was safely landed and Mickey Mouse, the so far last known active Keyblade master disembarked, displaying a worried yet at the same time determined look.

Both Donald and Goofy were surprised at this sight and exchanged another glance before Donald spoke: "Welcome back, Your Majesty. What's wrong? Bad news from Master Yen Sid?"

Mickey sighed briefly, then his worried expression vanished completely, replaced by full determination.

"Donald, Goofy, as you know, I went to Master Yen Sid because I might have finally found the location of the heart of one of those who we have to save. This good news, however, is sadly overshadowed by the alarming news Yen Sid had for me."

Goofy made a thoughtful face, scratching the left side of his head with narrowed eyes. "Hmmm...so the events in the datascape and the copy of their tormented memories gave you a important hint for one of them, but what could actually be so alarming about that? Is it worse than we thought?"

"The events gave me quite an important clue, and I finally remembered him fully – that boy I met and befriended several years ago while I was in my Mark of Mastery exam. But Yen Sid's news doesn't really concern the tormented ones at first glance. What we thought of being a mission to find and heal them might have to be expanded into a full battle for the universe again. It troubles me, but an old enemy is raising his head yet again."

Both Donald and Goofy jumped at this with a loud "Whaaat?"

"Who? Is Maleficent scheming yet again?" Donald quacked.

The King shook his head. "No, while she is no doubt still a threat to be taken seriously, our main problem is still the fella Xehanort; the one who caused most of the suffering those poor people have to endure."

"Xehanort?" The dog and duck shouted in unison yet again.


	9. Strange homecomings

Author's note:  
><strong>Here we go finally with chapter 8. I know it has been quite a while, but that cannot be helped since both my beta reader and I had quite some duties to fulfill in real life. As someone who's already having a fulltime job to attend to, it doesn't go any faster.<strong>  
><strong>I nonetheless want to thank all the followers and reviewers who stick along. This chapter introduces some new players for this long tale. ;)<br>**

* * *

><p><strong><em>VIII. Strange homecomings<em>**

"You mean that pupil of Ansem the Wise, is still not finished?" Donald jumped, visibly upset.

"But how's that even possible? Both Xemnas and that fake Ansem were destroyed." Goofy looked befuddled, scratching his head again.

Mickey nodded, the determined look persisting.

"Yes, those fellas were indeed eliminated. I can't tell you how, but I know that Xehanort is still out there, revitalized. And I'm not talking about the pupil of Ansem the Wise, the Xehanort we have to deal with now is an evil Keyblade wielder called Master Xehanort."

"Master Xehanort?" Donald quacked.

"Evil _Keyblade _wielder?" Goofy added.

"We have no time to discuss this in detail now, my friends, as there might be even more than one Xehanort. We need to get Sora and Riku, quickly! How are the preparations?" The King commanded

"Oi...eh...well, all set except the Datascape-Digitizer and the refit of the gummi ship. The ship will most likely be ready by lunchtime tomorrow." Goofy answered, somewhat ashamed.

The King gave him a puzzled glance. "You put the main gummi ship in the wharf for refit? But why?"

"Waaaak!? So it wasn't ordered by you, Your Majesty?" Donald screamed in utter disbelief.

"A hyuck, of course it wasn't, I never pretended it to be. I just thought that for our next journey three seats in the cockpit won't suffice anymore so I asked Chip and Dale to refit the entire cockpit section, also setting the ship up with some better sensors and radar."

At this Donald glared at Goofy and sneered. "It's rare for you to have a light bulb moment, y'know."

Mickey also allowed himself a small snicker. "Well done Goofy. The gummi ship-cockpit may need now four, if not even five seats if we count in Kairi as well. Nonetheless, we need to get those fellas from Destiny Islands over here quickly for briefing."

"Won't tomorrow afternoon be quick enough? The ship is almost ready. And the Digitizer isn't working because the material for it isn't sufficient quality," Goofy answered.

Micky snorted. "Ah yes, let me guess, Scrooge McDuck wanted to save a buck or two again. Gosh, looks like there's no helping it. Time is crucial now and one and a half days to wait for the ship is no good I fear."

"So, what do we do now, your Majesty?" Donald asked in a confused tone.

"Speed up the refit of the ship as much as possible. Gyro Gearloose is tasked with helping building the Digitizer, am I right? Well, forget the Digitizer for now and relocate Gyro to work on the ship. I want you two to get to Destiny Islands as fast as possible, geddit?"

Both the dog and the duck stood to attention, saluting. "As you wish, Your Majesty!"

"Very well, and it seemsI need to have a more private conversation with Scrooge now. There are situations where saving a buck is very inappropriate, so to say."

With those words the trio parted ways. Goofy went to get Gyro Gearloose, Mickey to the audience chamber to meet his Queen while Donald remained in the gummi hangar to lend a hand with the gummi ship as well.

* * *

><p>In the meantime, the citizens of Radiant Garden, which was about two hours ahead of Disney Castle, were already quite busy with their reconstruction work. The bailey, which had been severely damaged in the Heartless invasion orchestrated by Maleficent and Organization XIII a month earlier, was already fixed by quick and effective leading from Leon and his Restoration Committee. Work on the castle and town had also seen quite the improvement, although it would still take some time for their former beauty to be realised.<p>

On one of the distant blue-purple cliffs overlooking the town and towering castle stood three hooded figures in black coats, two of them flanking the third in the middle.

"Ah yes...Radiant Garden. Looks like they're quite diligent in restoring it to its former glory..." The middle figure said, standing closer to the edge of the cliff.

"Are we gonna disrupt it?" The figure standing on the left asked.

The middle figure tilted his head a bit to the left , the face in the shadows of the hood smirking. "An interesting question... but no, I don't want any unnecessary attention. Going by your statements I deduce you don't hold this place dear anymore?"

"Me? Being sentimental because it's my home world? AS IF!" The other figure answered in a cocky tone.

"Me neither... we've no time to be sentimental about this world anymore, as bigger things await us." The third figure added, causing the middle one to turn his head to the right.

"I see..." The middle figure chuckled. "...so you too, Isa. Strange homecoming indeed."

"I've already come too far down that road to turn back now. So, why _are_ we here then?" The right figure called Isa asked gruffly.

"You're way too impatient, Blueberry. I bet the boss has another wicked, three-times convoluted scheme that requires us to do something here." The left figure said mockingly, causing Isa to grunt in annoyance while the middle figure let out another chuckle.

"Shut up, Braig! I just don't want to waste time." Isa snarled back.

The other figure called Braig raised his right hand and waved his finger. "Geez, you're stiffer than a broomstick, try to loosen up a bit."

Before Isa could shoot out another angry retort, the middle figure, up to now clearly amused by their bickering, turned around fully to face them.

"That's enough now. We have indeed a task to accomplish here."

Isa turned his attention to the figure. "Ok then, what do we have to do?"

The middle figure turned around again, facing away from his two associates while flexing his fingers before starting to talk again.

"Like I said, I don't want any unneeded attention drawn to us. That old owl Yen Sid is most likely on high alert. So we need to do this in the most secret manner. No uproars or anything. What we need to do is first to get our hands on the research data and all other important files stored in Ansem's computer. Second, I want the cellar-area below the Heartless manufactory sealed off for good. The secrets of the experiments from there, and of course the Chamber of Repose, shall not be accessed by our enemies."

Braig chuckled mockingly at this. "Way to go, telling us not to cause an uproar but requiring us to go into the heart of the castle itself. Slipping through the town and castle defences unseen is near impossible I would think."

Isa sneered. "Hah, giving up already? You were the head of the castle guards; you should know the layout of the castle best."

"Me? Giving up? As if, Blueberry. It's because I know the castle layout that I say slipping in unseen without creating a distraction is impossible. And I won't adorn myself with borrowed plumes since I was the vice-head of the guards and mainly the Ansem's bodyguard and apprentice. The head of the guards was that amazon whose name I forgot."

"Thanks for the newsflash. But no one said we couldn't create a distraction to get access to the castle. However, we need to stage it so it can't be traced back to us." Isa answered calmly.

"Indeed..." The middle figure agreed. "The most important thing is that not _a single_ person spots you."

"That's all nice and dandy, boss, but last time I checked we can't turn invisible, unless you got access to some invisibility cloaks? Sneaking and hiding in shadows is all good and fine, but that entire town is a very busy construction site and that "Leon"-guy and his lackeys have set up a top-notch security system." Braig flashed another cocky grin, clearly enjoying himself.

"Would you cut out the continuous babbling? It's annoying." Isa snarled with contempt.

"As if Blueberry, or do you have a sure-fire plan already?" Braig countered, snickering evilly. "With the way that this Restoration Committee uses the computer system for their benefit, maybe they even found the data already." He added, his remaining free yellow eye fixating Isa.

"They won't find the data, as I made sure to corrupt it when I last used the computer," the middle figure added.

"What? Then how are we supposed to get…!?" Isa blinked, a tad confused.

"Simple…" the figure interjected, "…there exists an encrypted second dataspace, or rather, a black box which holds copies of the data. It's hidden well and I doubt the Restoration Committee has found it."

"Very interesting. Yet that still doesn't explain how we're supposed to get that box without anyone noticing us. Even a corridor of darkness won't work – their detection grid can now sense the energy distortions caused by them." Braig still had that mocking tone, earning another displeased grunt from Isa.

"Oh, quite the improvements they've made, huh? Our reconnaissance department has done its job I see. Well, there are still some Heartless and lower Nobodies left, occassional skirmishes once every few days are still common around here. They could be used for an effective distraction and if we send them in small groups attacking at various places in different time-intervals it won't look like an externally organized attack." The figure sounded very confident.

* * *

><p>Just as the three black-coated shady fellows plotted to infiltrate Radiant Garden a man seemingly in his early twenties awoke from a very long slumber. Green eyes slowly opened, seeing an unfamiliar grey, concrete ceiling.<p>

_Where am I? What the…it feels like I was in a deep coma or what for a long time…everything is shady, I only remember darkness, darkness and darkn__ess again …__all around me…I was fading, swallowed in a sea of darkness._

_Wait…there are other memories…strange memories I feel that are not entirely my own…yet still com__e over as if they are a part of me…_

…_a big town bathed in eternal sunset…sea-salt ice-cream…a black coat… … what the…a shady figure…too blurred out to recognize…a blind spot he doesn't remember…then there… a blonde __boy sitting at the top of the __clock tower…huh?_

The man sat up hastily, shaking his head to clear his thoughts. _None __of this makes any sense, I need to know where I am and who I am. _

He thought about it intensely while ruffling his flaming red hair. Then he finally grasped the memory.

_That's right…Lea, that's my name. I am Lea…and this place is…!?_

Looking around he frowned, the room he was in looked awfully similar to a jail cell, but strangely sterile like a sort of research facility. On one wall there was a door with a rhombus-like window which was lined with several iron bars.

_W__onderful… quite the mess I'm stuck in here with my head all in a mess as well. What am I doing here? How ironic.I keep telling others to get it memorized and yet I seem to be incapable of that right now._

Standing up, Lea took two experimental steps and, realizing there was no dizziness or weakness, walked the rest of the way to the door confidently.

Several stories above, Lea's "arrival" was detected by the main computer system which sent a notification to Cid's terminal in Merlin's house, acoustically reinforced by a constant beeping sound.

"Geez Louise…CID! Your nuisance of a confounded, confangled contraption is pounding my nerves again. Make it stop!" Merlin growled, waving his wand around impatiently.

The door swung open quickly and Cid Highwind, flanked by Leon and Yuffie, entered. "What's the fuss now, old man? Have you missed with one of your spells again and damaged my terminal?" Cid retorted calmly, chewing on his toothpick.

Merlin harrumphed indignantly, crossing his arms. "Hardly. Why do I still have to endure this pesky bundle of chips and cables? The main computer is under our control now, isn't it?"

"That's no damage, it's a report sent by the main computer. It picked up unusual signs of a life inside the castle!" Leon interrupted, his fingers flying over the keyboard deactivating the beeping sound.

"Considering we're reconstructing the castle, there should be heaps of life forms. What's so "unusual"?" Cid asked, moving slowly to the monitor.

"What's unusual is that this life form just "appeared", and underneath the Heartless manufactory no less," Leon explained.

"Underneath? What? How?" Cid asked, dumbfounded.


End file.
